Justin Pickering spent nearly two decades in U.S. Army Special Forces, retiring as a Green Beret Sergeant Major with the 7th Special Forces Group, earning a Purple Heart and five Bronze Stars along the way. He's now an entrepreneur, real estate investor, and author of The Deliberate Mindset, a book built from his own collapse and recovery after coming home from his final deployment.
In this episode, Justin joins Larry to talk about the moment his youngest son didn't recognize him after his final deployment, the flashback that sent him to check himself into a psychological care program, and the five pillars he built to rebuild his marriage and fatherhood from the ground up.
[2:12] Larry opens with the moment Justin's youngest son, then five years old, looked at him after his final deployment and asked, "Who are you?"
[5:34] Justin's middle son, seven at the time, tells him he wishes he had died overseas after a week of nonstop new discipline at home.
[8:25] Justin describes why combat felt peaceful to him: one task, one standard, and a clear drill for every threat.
[11:40] Justin shares that he was depressed, medicated, and losing friends to suicide, and started wondering if he'd be the next statistic.
[13:05] Justin explains how watching elite Green Berets take their own lives led him to build the blueprint that became his book.
[15:06] Larry formally introduces Justin's record: two decades in Army Special Forces, a Green Beret Sergeant Major, a Purple Heart, and five Bronze Stars.
[20:47] Justin begins the story of his breaking point, a 30 day span that changed everything.
[22:51] During a disagreement on the family farm, Justin has a flashback and mistakes his 12 year old son for a disrespectful Afghan elder.
[24:44] Justin drives himself straight to base afterward and checks into the psychological performance program.
[25:05] Justin initially refuses medication, having watched his mother's lifelong struggle with pill addiction end in her death.
[25:59] Blood work reveals extremely high cortisol levels, explaining why Justin was constantly on edge after multiple deployments.
[27:26] Justin introduces the five pillars behind his recovery: gratitude, framing and reframing, controlling the controllable, action over perfection, and the power of words and thoughts.
[27:45] Justin admits he later stopped his medication cold turkey without telling his wife or his doctor, a decision he's explicit about not recommending to anyone else.
[35:04] Justin shares how reframing "I have to" into "I get to" changed his relationship with his kids, starting with school drop off.
[1:02:57] Justin tells the story of a blown trailer tire on the drive home from Florida, and how his new mindset replaced "Pickering luck" with gratitude.
[1:07:05] Justin shares where to find his book, his business, and his weekly newsletter, The Sunday Compass.
Justin's story is proof that the strongest men still break, and that breaking isn't the end of the story. The dad who once told his own son "I'm going to have to defend myself" is the same dad now driving his kids to school and calling it a gift instead of a chore. If anything in this episode hit close to home, whether it's PTSD, a mental health crisis, or the loss of someone to suicide, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) is there any time you need to talk to someone. Go out and live legendary.